McLeish looks to bolster squad

19 August 2010 03:00

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is still hopeful of adding to his squad before the transfer window closes at the end of this month.
Matt Derbyshire this week joined giant Serbian striker Nikola Zigic and goalkeeper Ben Foster as summer imports to St Andrew's after agreeing a season-long loan from Greek side Olympiacos.
McLeish said ahead of last weekend's 2-2 draw with Sunderland he was hopeful of bringing in new blood before Saturday's first home match of the season against Blackburn after missing out on Moussa Dembele, who has since joined Fulham.
City are one of a number of clubs to have been linked with Wigan wideman Charles N'Zogbia but, although he refused to confirm the names of his targets, the Scot assured fans there is plenty going on behind the scenes.
He said: "I'm trying to get the squad up to 25. We are working towards it for before the window closes. We still plan to bring a player or two in. We're making enquiries about certain situations and we've also had a big list of players, one or two that we've lost out on and one or two that we've decided to pass on and it'll keep going for a while.
"From last season's team photo I think there's 10 who have left the club so it's a case of filling the squad up and making sure it's not just numbers but the quality of people to augment the squad. I can't guarantee that everything will be in place but if it's not then that's a challenge for the players at the club to show that they can do what they did last year."